Town Square

Groupon CEO: 'I was fired'

Original post made
on Mar 1, 2013

After a poor earnings report sent Groupon's stock down by 24 percent, the company fired its CEO, Andrew Mason, Thursday, according to a letter to Mason wrote to employees in a surprisingly candid tone.

Posted by Chris Zaharias
a resident of Crescent Park
on Mar 1, 2013 at 10:55 am

The guy said he's accountable, but he should've said he's at fault - that would've actually been candid. His letter was the departure letter equivalent of settling out of court while not admitting guilt.

Posted by Cedric de La Beaujardiere
a resident of Barron Park
on Mar 4, 2013 at 12:54 amCedric de La Beaujardiere is a registered user.

I recently watched a program on KQED Channel 9 about early silicon valley entrepreneurs, maybe it was "Something Ventured (Web Link). Anyway, one of the people interviewed said something to the effect that original founders of companies rarely last long in their position after the company either gets venture capital or goes public (I don't recall which, probably the later). It's probably a very different skill set to come up with a good idea and make it happen, than to create and run a company, and set and meet quarterly goals. It must be traumatic to be pushed out of the company one has created. Presumably, that trauma is assuaged somewhat if one has gotten millions of dollars through the venture.

The article Ladera Cyclist linked to says, "It's unclear why the famously quirky Mason chose the strangely precise figure of $756.72" for his annual salary. I notice that (7+5)*6=72, though that doesn't explain anything.